Hirschfield Book Gives Public Talk at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Today

Alan Hirschfield says of his collection of American Indian art, "I try to understand the artist's culture and to appreciate the beauty and meaning of each work." Through the years, the Hirschfields have built an extraordinary collection of these objects as well as a home in Wyoming designed specifically to accommodate the articles-they are quite literally living with the art.

At the Buffalo Bill Center of the West today, June 14 at 1:30 p.m., Hirschfield discusses and signs copies of his book on the collection, appropriately titled "Living with American Indian Art." He wrote the book with Terry Winchell, and the book features beautiful photography by W. Garth Dowling. The presentation is included in regular admission to the Center and takes place in the Center's Coe Auditorium. The book signing follows at 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. on site in the Center's Museum Store, which has the book for sale.

Hirschfield has had a fascinating career, primarily as an executive in the entertainment industry. Educated at the University of Oklahoma and then Harvard Business School, he began his career on Wall Street as an investment banker. That soon led him into the television, movie, and radio business. His resume includes serving as the Chief Executive Officer of both Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Pictures, as well as, working with many nonprofit institutions and numerous philanthropic endeavors.

During his long and varied career, Hirschfield has always been an art collector. He grew up in Oklahoma, with its significant American Indian culture and art. "My interest in Plains objects intensified further," he says in the book, "when we decided to build our home in Wyoming-the place where many of these tribes had lived, hunted and battled." He continues, "It seemed only natural to live with the objects representing their way of life, enriching our sense of place and our Wyoming roots."